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Topic: The Future of Star Wars Collecting? (Read 26519 times)

I was an articulation snob for sure, still am. To me, it's what makes an action figure, an action figure. To me, the $5-$6 figures are practically knock-offs by comparison... But at teh same time even I viewed it as having a limit.

Not ALL figures NEED super articulation. Even I, and I was a guy who took IMMENSE ammounts of **** for championing articulation as I did, can see not all figures need it...

Think of some figures that are outstanding as-is, like the Death Star Gunner, Saga AT-AT Driver, or the 3 Cantina patrons like Myo, and the Gotal guy, and stuff. Articulation to sit down and acheive a wide range of poses with the arms too. Wrist joints, knee joints, and a working but simpler elbow joint.

For me, those figures are EACH outstanding and worth purchase.

Same goes for so many other figures too...

Now did I want a super aticulated Fleet Trooper? Absolutely. WOuld I want all the Rebel Troopers done that way? Mostly, yets.

Could I have been perfectly happy with an AT-ST Driver with just knee joints, elbow, and wrist joints besides the hip/neck/waist? Absolutely. No ankles needed, and angle-cut elbows would've sufficed.

Do I want Anakin to have SA? Absolutely... Do I want OWK to have SA? Absolutely. Stormtroopers and Clones? Sure.

Sgt. Doallyn? No. I appreciate it if I get it, but no. Or Beru/Owen resculpts. No, I'm ok with a reduced articulation count.

Now, all that said... If articulation cuts, and I mean really drops, how can collectors care? Articulation drove a lot of interest... 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and so forth, weren't flukes... Will collectors stay? Maybe, maybe not.

To me that's why 6" figures aren't a great value, nor are they interesting to me much at all... $20 for basically buying the same thing you own only slightly larger... I'd rather they redid something I already own, but made it better, or whatever. But that's me. Re-use most of it, whatever, but just add something small... Hell just paint changes, those are enough to get me to rebuy a lot of the time. I dunno.

I think the 5POA line won't take off with collectors heavily unless it gets into seriously demanded (and obviously obscure) stuff. It'll go well with kids... It can help fund collector figures, but I don't foresee collectors ******* to own the 5 POA characters when most have what MOST collectors consider a superior figure already. Will they flock to 6" then to make up the difference? I don't think so. I think scale change is bad. I think people see it, like Clone Wars, as a separate line and something they can easily pass on to save money.

At the end of the day, I am buying these things now to complete my collection OCD and put 'em on display on a shelf. Articulation is barely a factor to me, but price matters A LOT if we are going above ten bucks each. I was happy to get hyper-articulated figures at a premium price as far back as VOTC if it was a mainstay iconic character that needed it. But then I collected the entire POTF2 line happily before that.

Cantina Alien #15 (let it be Ranat, please) can be 5 POA for all I'm worried, as long as I can afford it and find it at the store.

I was reading through Adam's Q and A this week over at GH, and he mentions in there that he feels the 10+ articulation range 3 3/4" line won't make it past 2013. Do you think there is a chance of this?

I was discussing Pawlus' column (via text) with a buddy of mine, and he said that there is always someone out there eager to predict the death of the line. It's just too early to tell. It's kind of premature to do the Chicken Little routine.

Although I am not overly excited about the character selection for waves one and two, there is still plenty there for me to buy. Ever since the onset of TVC, I have been buying resculpts of main characters, because I have been seeing these figures as the definitive version of the character. This will continue into TBS for me. Truth is, I see TBS as a continuation of the same kind of quality and character selction that we got in the TVC line, but now it's just in a different package. I want that new Biggs, Ceremony Luke and Padmé; and that new Anakin looks really nice (he appears to be the best AOTC Anakin to date). More clones are always a welcome addition to my collection, so I'll gladly nab that repainted clone, and the clone pilot. No brainers for me. I'll pass on Mara Jade, since I don't collect figures from the comics and from the video games. And I really wanted that Rex.

Possibly just wishful thinking on his part. I disagree with almost everything Adam Pawlus thinks about everything action figure related, other than that action figures should be able to sit. He's in opposition to the things that got me back into collecting. Waxing romantic about the 90's and the preposed/action feature happy Saga Collection figures is one thing...advocating a return to those times? No thanks.

Possibly just wishful thinking on his part. I disagree with almost everything Adam Pawlus thinks about everything action figure related, other than that action figures should be able to sit. He's in opposition to the things that got me back into collecting. Waxing romantic about the 90's and the preposed/action feature happy Saga Collection figures is one thing...advocating a return to those times? No thanks.

+1

If the Star Wars line goes back to preposed, 5-POA figures, I'll just quit...no big deal, I've had a good run.

This isn't so much about the future of Star Wars, but more about Hasbro's recent past:

The more I think about it, the more I start thinking that between the G.I. Joe - Retaliation line (and the associated movie), along with the Battleship movie might be partially related to the current state of things we're seeing from Hasbro in the Star Wars line. I get the sense that Hasbro getting itself involved (more directly) in the movie business may have been an unwise move, and it may have cost Hasbro a serious ammount of money. You may recall that Hasbro has been trying to get more involved in generating their own media, like movies, television series, etc. Is it possible that this foray into a new business has had a major impact on their toy business?

Look at the movie track record: Battleship was a major bomb. It cost some $200 million to make the movie, and it only grossed $65 million in the US. The international numbers were not impressive. Not a rave success for Hasbro Studios, by any stretch of the imagination. Seeing how this movie was a partnership with Universal, I don't think Hasbro Studios was left completely holding the bag, but they probably dealt with a significant loss in the tens of millions of dollars.

And then there's GI Joe - Retaliation which essentially got pulled from it's original release date last year. It sounds like the movie had major problems and needed to be seriously overhauled. All the while the toy line was released and then there were rumors swirling that the product for the movie was going to be pulled from the shelves.

And then there was the news from the investor conference call that preceded Toy Fair. Hasbro's CEO called on their various units to cut costs and to cut the number of SKU's for each license. Lo and behold, we saw that the Star Wars line has been scaled back considerably with a focus on serious cost cutting. Coincidence? Hmmmm.

Another potential explanation is that the current ownership of Hasbro might be looking to sell the company. Extreme cost cutting like we're seeing is occassionally the hallmark of a company trying to make themselves look as profitable as possible to a potential buyer. All of this is food for thought on the state of things now and in the near future.

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"You were entrusted to lead the Republic." - Vote for Ven Zallow from THE OLD REPUBLIC in figure polls!

Adam's Q and A at Galactic Hunter today got me thinking about this topic again. He mentioned something along the lines that Hasbro was probably really hoping things like the 6" line and the 5 POA line would really take off, and it got me to wonder if/when that happened, if we'd see the eventual end of the "Vintage style" 3 3/4" figures (or at least a hiatus).

Honestly, I'm more interested in the articulated stuff, like most of us here...but I guess in some ways I wouldn't be crushed if it went on a break either. I still love what is coming out, but if for some reason it did have to end, we have pretty much ultimate versions of all the big players and army builders...and we're really starting to scrape the bottom for the background stuff anymore. I'd still like the vintage line finished up (as far as having the modern equivalents), and I'd really hope to see a return to articulated stuff in time for the new movies. Again, I don't want it to end, but in a way I'd understand it.

I'm not sure if I'll get any of the Saga Legends stuff. The Kenner-ness of them is sort of appealing, and if there was some OT characters in there, I'd probably buy at least a few...but the selection we've seen so far isn't that exciting to me either. Once again, really prequel heavy, but that is understandable with the 3D releases that were supposed to happen. I suppose they might have data that tells them otherwise, but I just don't know if the prequels have that strong of pull that they need entire waves/lines dedicated to them (even with re-releases). Having a mix of the Saga for each wave seems like a little better option. Plus the fact that most of the stuff that hits is Anakin, Obi-Wan, Maul, Grievous, Yoda, etc. every time, and even the kids probably have their fill of those guys by now.

It's funny that you mention Adam's Q&A - most of the time, I agree with the commentary he makes on the line, but in this week's column he said a few things that I hope never come to pass...

I'm sure he is correct - Hasbro would love to see the Super-Articulated 3.75" line go away and leave us with the same garbage stuff that they're doing now for Iron Man 3 and Spider-man.

And while that may work for a one-and-done movie line, I'm afraid it really won't work for Star Wars.

Hasbro can hope that the 6" line takes off all they want, but the history of Star Wars toys at different scales is littered with more failure than it is success. Sure some of the other figure scales lasted for a couple of years, but they eventually died out and the only scale that has endured is the 3.75" one.

I think right now, more than ever, Hasbro is seriously misguided in the decisions they are making. Pure and simple.

There was no reason they couldn't have released the 2013 Clone Wars and Movie Heroes figures in the United States. If they are soliciting cases of 2012 product in new case-pack ratios it tells me that THEY are at fault, not the retailers. The retailers are clearly looking to buy product, they just don't know the difference between a 2012 Wave 2 Movie Heroes case and a 2013 Wave 1 Movie Heroes case. To the retailer, it's just a box with 12 Star Wars figures in it.

You have to wonder why EE is even soliciting these cases - if I was EE, unless Hasbro was essentially giving them to me for free, I would tell Hasbro "no thank you". (not exactly how I'd put it, but if I typed what I'd really say, it'd just get edited out anyway)

Hasbro says that we (the collectors) aren't the audience for Movie Heroes and Clone Wars, yet collectors are showing determination in acquiring foreign-packaged versions of figures that are not slated for release here in the US, at double or even triple the MSRP just to make sure their collections don't have any holes.

If that's not the definition of a disconnect, I don't know what is.

So while I'm sure Hasbro may be hoping that they can re-tread all of the same characters yet again in a new 6" scale. My hope is that the 6" line will fail - it may not be right away, it may take 2 or 3 waves for its failure to be complete - but it WILL fail.

What kind of figure line will we get for the Sequel Trilogy and other movies that are in the pipeline?

Unfortunately, I think we'll get the 5 POA stuff. My hope is that Hasbro will see wisdom in offering limited "Collector Grade" lines of 6-12 figures for each of these movies as well. After all, the characters and/or versions of characters from these movies should be ALL NEW - and whether you're a new collector or a long-time collector, you SHOULD want high-end versions of the Sequel Trilogy characters. Fingers crossed they never start releasing 6" figures of characters that have never been made in the 3.75" line.

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Peter

Letting my collecting OCD get the better of me on a DAILY basis... and loving EVERY minute of it!

If the 5-POA line is all we get (and I can't imagine what the **** is going through Pawlus' head that he actually wants that to happen), I'll gladly just stop collecting. I've had a really good run, but I have no interest in going backwards...and that is a complete backwards move.

Like I said, GI Joe replaced SW for me in 1982 almost completely... Star Wars was there, I stuck with it when a movie was out, but GI Joes got my allowance $ for the most part.

The SW vehicles usually were more appealing to me at that point though, or clearanced ones for coats and guns that I gave then to my favorite GI Joes, haha. Then again I don't have trouble putting my figures in vehicles. Even the Dropship, I get a pilot in there with little problems. Tight fit sure, but that's the toy more than the figure.

The SW vehicles usually were more appealing to me at that point though, or clearanced ones for coats and guns that I gave then to my favorite GI Joes, haha. Then again I don't have trouble putting my figures in vehicles. Even the Dropship, I get a pilot in there with little problems. Tight fit sure, but that's the toy more than the figure.

For me it was the reverse - I always thought that the GI Joes had some great vehicles and I'd get a couple here and there and use them to augment the vehicles I had for my Star Wars figures.

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Peter

Letting my collecting OCD get the better of me on a DAILY basis... and loving EVERY minute of it!

First time I got a Joe, Flash from K-mart that just had opened on the hill above my house, i was hooked... The visor that moved on the removable helmet, the backpack and laser that hooked to it, and the articulation... Even without the swivel joint, it was insanely great. I loved posing my Joes... Star Wars figures became innocent victims in the plots Cobra would hatch.

I definitely understand the desire for the line to maintain its standard as far as articulation. I also do understand Pawlus' sentiment about the Kenneresque figures and I share it. I'd be more interested in these than a lot of the Black Series (four inch) stuff we're getting. Articulation isn't the end all be all for me. A lot of my favorite figures are from the POTJ era, with minimal articulation compared to today. A lot of my favorite figures are tricked out. It just depends on what the individual figure requires. If the 5 POA line has great sculpts, they can hold their weapons and can sit in a vehicle, then awesome.